Green Pasture giveaway

Green Pasture is the company that makes the Fermented Cod Liver Oil that we are getting ready to start as part of our GAPS supplements. as far as i know, Green Pasture is the only company that offers CLO in a fermented form, preserving more nutrients and making it even more easily digested. i am getting ready (read: saving my pennies) to order some in the next month, so this giveaway comes at a perfect time for me. i am sharing about the giveaway here on my blog to gain an extra entry :) the giveaway is for a $150 voucher for any of their products! check it out here:
Green Pasture giveaway at Kelly the Kitchen Kop blog

why we chose GAPS

i just want to give a little more explanation on why we have chosen to do this diet. because we have lost a significant amount of weight (especially noticeable in my hubby & son), i think people may have gotten the idea that weight loss was the goal of the diet. this is actually quite untrue. for the sake of those who are now considering GAPS as a weight loss tool, i want to give some clarification.

neither i, nor my husband Z, nor my son D, have had any major health or digestive problems that drove us to try this extreme diet. the catalyst for us was the combination of D's unusually excessive weight gain between the ages of 15 months and 26 months, and my continued weight loss as i breastfed him during that time. it truly seemed as though fat was melting off my body and being deposited on his. now, of course it's very natural for a mother to lose weight from breastfeeding...they say each nursing session burns as many calories as running a few miles (or something like that). but i think, usually, breastfeeding weight loss reaches a plateau around the time baby starts eating solids and nursing decreases.

over the past year i had read things here and there amongst the "traditional food" community about the GAPS diet and how it could heal a number of ailments. i filed it away in my brain as something to consider for later. i explained it to the hubby on a few different occasions, and we both started to warm up to the idea. i think what finally kicked it all into gear was when he decided he was ready for us to try for another baby. but, if there was indeed something out of balance in my body, we wanted to try to heal that before we conceived again. so we bought the book, Gut And Psychology Syndrome (GAPS), and i spent several weeks learning how the health of our gut directly affects the brain and really the whole body. as Hippocrates supposedly said, "all disease begins in the gut."

the GAPS program didn't give us any answers to the specific dilemma of D's mysterious weight gain, but it gave us some clues. i read that any toxicity and flora imbalance i may have in my body would undoubtedly be passed to my child not only in the womb, but also through my breastmilk. i also learned that for those who have Candida overgrowth (which is probably anyone who's ever had a round of antibiotics), the overgrowth gets even worse during pregnancy because of the mother's suppressed immunity. i had no idea how GAPS would help us, but at the very least, it would help deal with Candida overgrowth. removing grains, refined carbohydrates, and most sweet foods from one's diet is a great way to starve Candida, which thrive on starches and carbs in the digestive tract. in addition, i wanted to clear my body of its toxic load from all the years of "slow peristalsis"...when we let stool sit in the colon for more than a day, the toxins in the stool are re-absorbed by the digestive lining and back into the blood stream. no bueno.

wanting to start GAPS, but feeling overwhelmed, and not sure whether to start while i was still occasionally nursing D, i just stalled for a few more weeks. turns out it was all orchestrated for me already (i believe by God), because that's when i landed in the ER with abdominal pain and a diagnosis of appendicitis. that meant surgery meds & strong antibiotics for me...and for D too, if he continued to nurse. i really felt hesitant about him getting those drugs in his system, and i sure as hell didn't want him getting any antibiotics after reading how damaging they are to the gut. Z and i felt that this was the best opportunity to wean D...and the little man handled it like a champ. he would ask for "ninny" (his word for nursing) and i would tell him that mommy was sick and didn't have any more ninny left...then he would look at me with sad eyes and cuddle up to me, often touching my stomach and asking "doctor fix your owie?" ...i was so sad to force him to wean, as i had planned to let him decide when our nursing relationship would end. he had been down to only nursing once or twice a day for the previous several months, and i figured it would just taper off.

weaning D meant my dilemma was solved...we could start GAPS without worrying that he'd get all my detoxing through my milk. so, we started transitioning into the GAPS foods only a few weeks later, and we're still plodding along. D's weight had started to melt away as soon as he weaned, but once we cut out grains, fruits, and all sweet foods, he started looking like a new boy (see photos below). i can now see the finer features of his face, i can pick him up without hurting my back, and he is fitting back into clothes he outgrew exactly one year ago. even better than all that, his attitude and behavior is dramatically improved...which i'll write about in my next post :)

if you've made it this far, thanks for reading! sorry this post is a bit scattered...if there are any points i need to clarify, just ask :)

update & a recipe

sorry my updates have been sparse. posting updates has just sounded too daunting these past few weeks. the diet is going well...the detoxing & die-off are manageable...but the weather here is not. we live in south Florida. and our home does not have central AC. we have window units in a couple rooms, and a few fans that we have constantly blowing. so these past couple weeks have been quite toasty, and it has really sucked the life outta me. today the summer rains have finally arrived, bringing with them the most glorious cool breezes. all the windows are open, and it feels heavenly. in the next few days i will try to post more specifics about our progress on the GAPS Intro.

a recipe...this has become one of my go-to recipes to get broth into my 2 year old son's belly. he still refuses any sort of brothy-looking soup...but if it's blended and creamy, he'll gobble it up. he actually doesn't even call this one soup...he calls it "bra-tee wiss doh-durt on it" (translation: broccoli with yogurt on it :)  it's been a big hit with the hubby and bro-in-law too.

Cream of Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup
(adapted from the recipe in Internal Bliss GAPS cookbook)

1 head of broccoli, chopped (stalks removed)
1 head of cauliflower, chopped (stalks removed)
1 med white onion, diced
2 TBsp ghee or other animal fat
4 cups homemade meat broth/bone broth (great instructions here)
1 cup coconut milk (optional)
1 TBsp fresh dill, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled & minced/crushed
1 tsp black or white pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt, to taste (i think we used around 2 tsp)
homemade sour cream or yogurt

*heat ghee/fat on medium heat in a large stock pot. saute the onion until tender (10 minutes).
*add broccoli & cauliflower florets and saute another 5 minutes. stir occasionally.
*add homemade broth, cover with lid, and bring to a boil, then simmer/steam until veggies are tender (10 minutes).
*add fresh dill & minced garlic. blend the soup in a blender (won't all fit at once, had to do this in 3 phases).
*return soup to the pot and add the coconut milk, if using.
*heat the soup on med-low, not letting it boil.
*add nutmeg, pepper, and salt.
*serve hot with a large dollop of homemade sour cream (or yogurt). if you're not on GAPS Intro, you could add some grated cheddar cheese on top :)

yummmmmmmm. hope you enjoy it!

link love

fantastic article outlining what you need to know to start the GAPS Diet:
"How to Start GAPS" @ Life is a Palindrome

the GAPS Intro diet

the first part of the GAPS diet is called the Intro...it is an optional part of the diet, but is highly recommended because it sort of jump-starts your digestive healing. Intro is especially helpful for those with diarrhea or severe constipation because you are only feeding yourself the most easily digestible foods, allowing your body & digestive system to spend extra energy healing itself. consequently, following the Intro progression for a few days is a great way to resolve a stomach bug or diarrhea for those not on the GAPS diet.
there are 6 stages of the Intro, with each stage adding a few new foods into the repertoire. you move through the Intro as quickly or slowly as your condition permits...you watch your body and if there is any digestive upset (bloating, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, etc), allow these symptoms to clear before introducing the next item or moving to the next stage. this part is tricky, because food reactions can manifest in many different ways for different people.
when there is a suspicion that the patient may be allergic to a food, always do the Sensitivity Test first: before bed, place a small dab of the food on the inside of the wrist and let it dry. the next morning check the skin for any reaction. if there is redness or rash on the wrist, avoid that food for a week or two and then try the test again. if the wrist shows no reaction, proceed with introducing that food, starting with only a teaspoon per day for the first few days...gradually increase amount if there are no reactions.

below is a brief summary of the stages of Intro. (do each stage for at least two days, and if there are no reactions or digestive upset, move slowly into the next stage. some people get through all the stages in a month or two...others take several months per stage. it all depends on how your body progresses.)

note: it is greatly preferable that all ingredients be in their natural state (ie - organic produce if possible, eggs from pastured chickens, meat from pastured animals, butter from pastured cows. it is especially important for fat sources to be "clean" and free of hormones, antibiotics, and other toxins, because animals store toxins in their fatty tissue.)

Stage 1: 

*homemade meat stock/bone broth as a warm drink with or between meals

*gently boiled meat

*boiled/steamed vegetables...thoroughly cooked and very soft (easier to digest this way)

the above 3 items can be eaten separately, or as a soup

*1 teaspoon per day of the juice from homemade sauerkraut or other fermented veggie

*if you have already passed the sensitivity test for homemade yogurt, you may start with 1 teaspoon of yogurt per day and gradually increase

*homemade ginger tea (fresh grated ginger root steeped in boiling water)

Stage 2:  continue with stage 1 foods, then add (one at a time) these new items:

*raw egg yolk from pastured chickens (best if you know the source, like a local family or farm). mix the yolk into a bowl of warm soup or broth. start with 1 yolk per day, and increase until you add 1 yolk to each bowl of soup you eat.

*soft boiled (white cooked, yolk runny) egg in soups {we skipped this step, not palatable to us}

*stews & casseroles made with meat, veggies, salt, and herbs (fresh only), and a high amount of animal fat.

*continue to take probiotic fermented veggie juice with each meal, increasing the amount you take each day.

*fermented fish (recipe in book), starting with 1 piece per day

*homemade ghee, starting with 1 teaspoon per day

Stage 3: continue with above foods, then add these items (one at a time):

*ripe avocado, mashed into soup. this is very fibrous, so it may cause either constipation or diarrhea. so start with 1-3 teaspoons a day, and watch your stool.

*nut butter pancakes (made from butternut squash, nut butter, eggs) cooked in ghee. start with 1 pancake per day.

*scrambled eggs, cooked in lots of ghee or other animal fat. serve with avocado & cooked veggies.

*cooked onion (great for the digestive & immune system). chop a white onion, cook slowly in ghee with lid covered for 20-30 minutes. {this is one of my favorites!! so good with scrambled eggs!}

*homemade sauerkraut or other fermented veggies...may now start eating the actual veggies instead of just the juice. start a small amount, work up to 1-2 tablespoons with each meal.

Stage 4: continue with above foods, then add these items (one at a time):

*meats cooked by roasting/baking/grilling (not barbequed or fried yet). avoid the bits that are burned or dark brown. eat meat with fermented veggies and cooked veggies.

*cold-pressed unfiltered extra virgin olive oil. add to each meal, starting with a few drops, and increase to 1-2 TBsp per meal

*freshly pressed vegetable juices, starting with 1/3 cup carrot juice. strain out any pulp before drinking. drink slowly, diluted with warm water. gradually increase to 1 cup per day. then start adding celery, leafy greens, and fresh mint leaves. drink on empty stomach first thing in the morning, or middle of afternoon.

*GAPS bread (almond flour, eggs, winter squash, ghee/coconut oil, salt), starting with a small piece per day.

Stage 5: continue with above foods, then add these items (one at a time):

*cooked tart apples (peeled and cored), stewed with a little water, then mashed with lots of ghee. start with a few teaspoons per day.

*raw veggies, starting with softer parts of lettuce and peeled cucumber. start with a small amount, watch for digestive trouble. after those 2 veggies are well tolerated, gradually add: carrot, tomato, onion, cabbage, etc. chew very well. if any diarrhea, then you're not ready for this step yet.

*start adding small amounts of fruit to your fresh pressed veggie juice, starting with apple, pineapple, and mango. avoid citrus fruits for now (lemon water is ok).

Stage 6: continue with above foods, then add these items (one at a time):

*peeled raw tart apple (make sure it is ripe, as unripened fruit contains extra starches) also, fruit should be eaten between meals. gradually introduce other raw fruits.

*gradually start trying baked cakes & other sweet recipes from the GAPS book. use dried fruit as a sweetener.

after the Intro is completed, we move on to the "full GAPS", which is much less restrictive. the meat broth & bone broths should continue to be a regular (daily) part of the diet...at least once per day.

our family has been on stage 4 for about a week now, and it's a comfortable place to be. there is enough variety now that we are not going crazy with the boredom of soup. we recently had my husband's younger brother (we'll call him G) come move in with us to do the diet. he just got to stage 3 yesterday, so he will soon be caught up with us.

our symptoms pre-GAPS

as part of an explanation of why we chose to do GAPS, i am recording any health symptoms (however minor) our family has experienced in the years/months before starting the GAPS Diet.
(brace yourselves. this post contains poo talk.)

Z:
*has always felt somewhat chubby (though not considered overweight by most people's standards), since childhood. has always had difficulty losing weight. the amount of weight he has lost in the last month (and the couple months before GAPS when he cut back on grains & sugars) is astonishing. NONE of his pants fit. we're talking 30+ lbs gone.
*mood instability since childhood, including sporadic days of depression or mild anxiety.
*occasional low energy
*high requirement for sleep (8 hrs minimum)...not sure if this could be considered a "problem"...but since starting GAPS, he has noticed a huge difference in this area. he wakes up with loads of energy after only 6 hours of sleep.
*joint pain & inflammation. he has noticed this greatly reduced since we started GAPS.
*hair loss/receding hairline starting in his mid 20's (we didn't realize this could be diet-related until recently)

R:
*constipation since i was a child. not straining-to-poop constipation; but infrequent (every 2-3 days) bowel movements..."slow peristalsis", which i have come to learn is also considered constipation. on the Bristol Stool Chart (look it up :), mine have always been somewhere between type 2 and type 3 (type 4 is ideal).
*since puberty i have always had acne...not severe, but it persisted through my college years and into my mid-twenties. it started to improve over the last 2 years as i have switched to a traditional foods diet, but i still get flare-ups around the time of my period.
*also since my teen years i have had dry skin, specifically on my face. since moving to Florida 4 years ago, the humidity helps a great deal, but when i run my hand across my face, it still feels somewhat dry and gritty. i have started to use a rough exfoliating rag on my face about once a week, which makes my face feel soft and smooth as a baby's bottom :) but i can't ignore the possible thyroid or other hormonal issue that causes the dry, rough skin.
*since i was in my pre-teens (maybe younger) i've had a white film on my scalp, at the roots of my hair (i guess it's dandruff)...it wasn't usually noticeable unless i scratched my scalp. i still have it, and i don't think it's normal.
*my basal body temperature in the mornings is consistently low...hovering just above or below 97.0...never up to 98. i believe this may indicate a thyroid issue.
*low libido. even before getting pregnant. seems to be improving with the combination of weaning D & eating a high-fat diet.
*strong body odor (i believe this is candida-related, and also caused by toxic buildup resulting from constipation)
*bad breath (also candida-related)
*my ankles and lower legs (below my calfs) are thick with tissue. when i was about 13, a pediatrician told me it was just my fatty tissue. a chiropractor told me it was scar tissue from soccer injuries. i'm more inclined to believe the latter, because deep in that tissue there are tender spots when i run my thumb along the inside of my achilles tendon. possibly related, is another issue i've had for a long time: my feet don't seem to get very good blood circulation. if the weather is chilly (even just in the low 60s), my feet just can't get warm unless i wear wool socks. if i sit kneeling or squatting for more than just a minute, my lower legs feel tingly and my feet start to fall asleep. i've always had an aversion to sitting this way, as far back as i can remember. i've also always had low blood pressure, which seems like it could relate to the lack of circulation.
*in April i developed appendicitis and had my appendix removed. there is not much research done on the role of the appendix in the body...it has been dismissed for too long as a useless "dead end" organ. but there is evidence to suggest that probiotics that the body makes in the gut are then stored in the appendix for later use. what causes the appendix to get inflamed and cause abdominal pain (and eventually rupture), i do not know. but, because the appendix is attached to the colon, i have no doubt that appendicitis is somehow related to problems of constipation and gut dysbiosis (imbalance of flora).
*the main reason i chose to do GAPS: there's possibly something wrong with the way my body makes breastmilk. in the GAPS book, i read that it's very rare for babies to truly thrive on solely breastmilk after around 6 months of age. D refused all solid foods until he was around 10 months old, and yet he still grew steadily and gained weight while consuming only my milk. he started bulking up around 15 months old, and my theory is that this is when he started the return to more frequent nursing common among toddlers (when mothers notice that their toddler suddenly starts "nursing as often as a newborn" again)...so then he was getting nutrition and calories not only from solid food, but also from my milk. everything i'd heard & read told me that babies & toddlers self-regulate their breastmilk intake according to their appetite, and you don't have to worry about it. D never seemed to "over eat" at the breast...he usually nursed for comfort and a few times between meals as a snack (we didn't give him snack foods like crackers, cereal, etc). we knew several other families with nursing toddlers, and nothing was different between us...and yet D gained 10 lbs in four months, and showed no signs of slowing. all this leads me to think that it was my milk that caused the weight gain, not his eating habits (it's also possible he has some endocrine problems, see below). everyone said "your milk must be pure cream!"...but i've come to believe that eating lots of fat is not what makes one fat...eating lots of carbohydrates & sugars is what does it. so is it possible my breastmilk is higher in carbs? could i have excess sugar stored in my fat reserves? this is all just theory at this point. one thing is clear: as soon as D fully weaned from breastfeeding, he started slimming down immediately and steadily.

D:
*persistent yeast rash on his bum starting when he was around 2 months old. also had oral thrush once when he was about 5 months old. this tells me he has had a problem with candida imbalance since he was born...i believe he got it from my breastmilk, and continued to receive a steady supply of it all the way until his weaning at 26 months.
*volatile mood, random aggression...may be related to blood sugar, because his mood greatly improves after eating. it's hard to know how much of this is health-related and how much is just due to the rapid growth & changes of toddlerhood.
*in the months before we started GAPS, D was no longer pooping on a daily basis. i suspect he has a tendency to constipation/slow peristalsis like his mama. similar to the previous item, D's mood is significantly improved after pooping (whose isn't?? :)
*unusual weight gain starting around 15 months, and continuing until weaning at 26 months. possible problem with metabolism or hormones, although blood work & consultation with an endocrinologist did not reveal any abnormalities. or, it's possible that there was no problem on his end, and his abnormal weight gain was solely caused by my milk (as described above). again, the fact that he started to noticeably slim down upon weaning is significant.

the GAPS diet addresses the root cause of most health problems: damage in the digestive tract caused by exposure to antibiotics, toxins, pharmaceuticals, and improper diet. it is a vicious cycle...antibiotics kill all the bacteria, but they don't touch yeasts like Candida. then the yeasts flourish and proliferate, feeding on starches and sugars that we consume in our foods. even those who carefully avoid the use of antibiotics, will unfortunately still be exposed to them in some meat, fish, dairy, and even produce (sometimes sprayed with antibiotics). toxins are everywhere as well - cosmetics, shampoo, soap, deodorant, the air you breathe, the water you drink, etc etc. the industrial age has brought with it an abundance of toxins. all of these things contribute to damage in the gut...and this damage accumulates over time, getting deeper and deeper unless it is healed. whatever bacteria (good or bad) a mother has in her body is passed on to her baby through the birth canal...the father's flora is mixed in there too, via his intimacy with the mother. this is the baby's first colonization of gut flora in a digestive tract that was sterile in the womb. this is how gut damage is passed on from generation to generation, growing deeper and causing more noticeable health problems (why i believe we are seeing huge numbers of children with illnesses and disorders that were not seen in our parents' generation).

this is why we have chosen to do the GAPS diet...not only to clear out our gut and heal our various health issues, but for the health of our future children. we would like to see substantial healing over the next several months before we try for another baby. i'm looking ahead with excitement and some trepidation...but i can't wait to see the changes this brings into our lives!

by the way, congratulations on making it through this huge post! ;)

what is the GAPS Diet?

there is a LOT of information to be shared on this subject...and i know several people have been waiting to hear what in the world this diet is about. but with the fatigue and general "blah" i'm feeling today, i'm not in the mood or mindset to type up a good summary here. BUT, i do know some helpful websites that provide the basic info.
(note: i haven't yet figured out how to make my links open in a new tab/window, so you'll have to right-click and manually select that option unless you want to "navigate away from this page". sorry, i'm not html-savvy :)


Autism, ADD, ADHD, constipation, candida, asthma, learning/behavioral problems & depression...

The GAPS Diet: What It Is and Why You Might Consider Doing It

GAPS - What is it? (website of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride)

Simplified GAPS Outline

The Five Most Common GAPS Diet Mistakes

browse around those links, and stay tuned until i share why our family decided to embark on the GAPS adventure.